The Battle of the Seasons
by bluebunny22
Summary: An old friend of Jack's shows up bruised and battered. She brings news of a battle. Between the four spirits that would be assumed as to get along. The four seasons.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first Rise of the Guardians story so I apologize in advance for any out off character things. This is set after the movie. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own this. **

The guardians were sitting in one of the cozy living rooms of North's large complex. All but Jack were crowded around the crackling fireplace. He was scooted a safe distance away. The four older guardians were laughing about some age old inside joke. Jack was listening to the whispers of the North Wind when it unexpectedly cried out. Jack winced as it took him by surprise. The four jumped up in concern. "Are you alright Mate?" Bunny asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Jack brushed it off,"It was just North Wind."

"You mean, the winds talk?" Tooth asked puzzled.

"Course. You didn't know that?"

"Uh, no. Ve cannot hear anything." North informed them.

Sandy made a series of images that Jack was able make out. "Wind said that East cried out for help. She's coming."

Suddenly the big bay window shattered and a bruised and bleeding figure stumbled inside with the support of the East Wind. Jack felt the North Wind leave his side to go help. The figure collapsed onto the carpet as they lost consciousness. As Jack got closer, he began to recognize who the person was. "Morte," he whispered.

He lifted the battered teen up and placed them in an empty bedroom down the hall. Then he flew back to where the other guardians stood in shock and puzzlement. "Crikey Jack, who was that?"

"That is Morte."

Tooth sighed dramatically,"Care to elaborate."

"It's kind of a long story."

"We've got all night."

Jack took in a deep sigh and leaned on his staff. Then he began. "Okay. Morte was born on September twenty-second a long time ago. Longer than any of us. The world was dark back then and full of death. Her mother died in childbirth leaving Morte with a father who didn't really care about her. Morte means death, you know. Overcome with grief her father took his own life only a few years later. She was taken in by her aunt and uncle who blamed her for her parents' death. Growing up with them was hard for Morte, but she pushed through it. On her fourteenth birthday Morte and her horrid cousin were harvesting herbs from a forest behind the house. A mighty storm had raged the night before, and some of the large trees were weak. The boy was standing under a large maple that had been struck by lighting. There was cracking sound, and Morte shoved her cousin out of the way. The tree crushed her."

Tooth gasped and put a hand over her mouth. She hovered above the ground. Both North and Bunny looked solemn, but Sandy waved a for Jack to go on. They needed to finish.

"Well Manny woke her up as the first spirit to walk on earth. Her job is hard to explain. Morte stopped someone's death, so Manny gave her the power of choosing life or death."

Everyone looked confused.

"If Morte stumbles across someone who is injured badly or very ill she holds the ultimate choice. She hated herself for it. She tried to take her own life multiple times, but each try ended with a humans death. She went years alone and secluded in self-hatred. Man-in-Moon finally took pity on her and gave her the rights to the season of autumn. But, as the other seasonals told her, autumn was death anyway. The season when plants shiver up and die. Everyone hated her for it. Then I came. I showed Morte how to have fun with her autumn powers, and she taught me how to make it snow. Instead of Morte, Spirit of Death, she was Mo Spirit of Autumn. She unlocked powers she didn't know she had. She helped farmers with their harvest, and even though they couldn't see her they knew someone had helped them. She found the art side of the season and painted the leaves with exploding colors. We rode the winds together. She sat on the East and I rode the North. We did everything we could together. Eventually I think she forgot that she had even been Morte. Manny had made spirits like the Grim Reaper. She was finally free. Until the blizzard of '68. I was messing around in a forest while Mo was resting. A traveler had fallen asleep, and my storm brought him to the brink of death. Mo had to make the choice she dreaded. She couldn't think straight, and in her confusion she killed him. I remember her looking down at her hands in horror and screaming. Mo blamed me, and we had the biggest battle in history. Everything in the forest died and got covered in snow. Then she flew off, and I hadn't seen her until now."

Everyone looked at the closed door of the room where Morte was resting. "That poor girl," Tooth whimpered.

"Do you know vhy she is here?" asked North.

"I think she was attacked."

Sandy twisted his sand into a big question mark with a person behind it. "I bet it was Slush and Sunburn."

"Who are they Mate?"

"The spirits of spring and summer,"Jack told Bunny darkly.

"Oh you mean April Showers and Julious Heat."

Jack nodded his head. "You do not, like them?" North questioned.

The eternal teen laughed bitterly,"You could say that. They hate us. Mo especially because of her extra powers. Well, that and the fact that she took me as a friend."

"What do you mean Jack?" Tooth wondered.

"Mo is a really powerful ally. Spirits really wanted to get on her good side. Then when she befriended me a lot of them were really upset. For the first couple months we were constantly hiding from pretty much everyone."

"So why would they attack now?"

A new voice sounded from behind the group,"They have a new ally."

The Guardians jumped and turned to look at the girl herself. She had long black hair that hung down around her face. Her eyes were a piercing blue, and her skin was paler than Jack's. She wore bright colors to create a vivid contrast with exploding splats of orange, yellow, and red on her hooded jacket. The shirt underneath was brown, and she wore blue jeans with red converse high tops. In her hand she was twirling a staff with a knot at the top that held rubies, fire opals, and yellow jewels. They sparkled without any sunlight showing the magic they held.

Morte was looking down at her feet and shuffling them around. She glanced up at Jack and blurted,"I over reacted. I'm so sorry!"

Jack looked surprised for a moment but then moved closer to his friend. "If anyone should apologize it should me. I never should have put you in that position."

North Wind looked at his friend East, and they pushed the two seasonals together.

The two teens laughed and hugged. "So Mo, what are you doing here?"

**PS: Please let me know what you think of Morte or the story in general. Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**An: I don't own Rise of the Guardians. I do own Morte and the Iowan Farm family. Thanks so much for the responses last chapter. My heart swelled with pure joy! Thank you!**

Chapter Two

"Why did we have to let her go? I was having fun," a girl drawled.

"We have to have her deliver the message, April. Our job was to chase her off to the Pole then stir up a panic," a boy snapped.

April Showers sighed dramatically from her perch on a rock. The immortal spirit was swinging her feet back and forth occasionally studying her perfectly painted fingernails. "But Julious, what about you? You want a piece of Frost right?"

"You know I do. But not right now."

April looked at where Julious was sitting. He had papers spewed around him and most of them looked like total gibberish. "What'cha readin'?" she asked.

"The battle plans. We need to meet up with Kate and the Groundhog in Pennsylvania, from there we will go to England to pick up some little fire sprites. Then we meet back at the lair and move out."

"Then let's go!" April called impatiently.

She leaped towards her boyfriend and pecked his cheek. The two spirits clutched their conducts, for Julious it was a long wooden board that resembled an oar and April had a long _thing_ made of twisted vines and flowers. They jumped onto their respected winds and flew off.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in North's complex…

Mo and Jack were sitting on an over stuffed couch deep in thought. The other guardians were across the room also pondering what had been said. "Tell it again for us, will ya' mate?"

Mo sighed and began her story again,"I was looking for Jack because I had heard about the battle and wanted to make sure that he was okay. That, and East Wind really wanted to meet up with North Wind. I think she has a small crush on him."

Jack and Mo suddenly cringed. "Language East!" Mo fumed,"We are in the presence of the Guardians."

There was a silence.

"No I don't care that they can't hear you. Jack can, and he is a Guardian."

Jack laughed at East's response. "No I don't mind. Really, I do that kind of thing all the time. We really should get Mo over to our side. She needs to live a little."

Mo looked over sharply at Jack. "No I do not. Living does not require using mean words."

Jack waved a hand at her as if to say _whatever_. The older Guardians were struggling to smother their laughter at the exchange. Mo flushed a bright orange rather than the typical red. Jack's face took on a purplish tint.

Mo took a deep breath and continued,"Anyway, we were headed to find Jack when Slush swooped into our path. She started ranting about how much she hates me blah blah blah. It didn't really bother me until East cried out. Someone grabbed me from behind, and I knew it was Sunburn because of the instantaneous burning down my arms. They said,'Give the Guardians this message: We are coming. Beware. P.S. Jack, time to melt.' then they chased me to the Pole, and you know what happened after that."

Everyone adopted the puzzled look again. "Vhat does it mean by 've are coming'?"

"Well it sounds like some great friends of ours have some allies in this battle."

"So do you Jack. You know that right? We'll fight with you. And you too Morte. We wouldn't abandon you or something like again,"Tooth said quickly.

"I get it Tooth. It's okay."

Mo nodded in support of Jack's statement. She twirled her staff unconsciously, and the air dried out little. A couple of leaves drifted from the empty air and landed on her lap. She brushed them off and stood up. "I need to get out for a little bit. I won't go far. Just to my secret place."

"Where is that?" Bunnymund asked suspiciously.

"It's a _secret place_ for a reason," Morte said sharply.

Bunny put up his paws to signal surrender. North looked torn. Finally he said,"Fine but take this vith you. Use it if you need to get away."

Mo nodded and took the snow globe and tucked it into the big pocket on her hoodie. Then she left through the same window she had crashed through earlier.

* * *

She flew for a long while before touching ground in the often ignored state of Iowa. She thought it was funny that it was so insignificant to the bigger states. Iowan Farmers were responsible for so much of the harvest. Sometimes she thought about purposely letting all the other state's crops die just so they would how important this little place was. From what Morte had observed Iowan Farmers and their families were pure of heart and honest people. She spent a lot of time around them.

Her secret place was a small house in the middle of nowhere. Three people lived there. A farmer and his wife and their son. Every so often two other groups would show up in their vans. Four more adults, two moms and two dads, and their kids. The oldest was an Asian boy who always had his headphones on. Next was girl with the deepest brown eyes Mo had ever seen. They held the pain of someone who had been hurt by the ones she trusted. There was a deep mystery that Mo hadn't uncovered written on her heart of uncompromising gold. She was never seen far from a book. Unless she went to see the kitten (Story for later). The next one was another boy whose eyes had that look of excitement and joy. "Much like Jack,"she mused. After that there were two girls around the same age. One was the sister of the two boys and the other followed the mysterious girl. They liked to laugh and play outside. Finally a little girl tumbled out of the van, another follower of the mysterious girl. She was loud and mean around the older kids. But Mo could see that she did have a heart of gold. Or at least silver.

So that night Mo sat on the back porch looking at the stars. She was joined by the oldest girl who sat out there with the dog. Mo liked this girl best. Mo could see herself reflected back into the girl. So she stayed and listened as the girl sang to the dog and the stars and the trees and even to her little kitten though the thing wasn't even close to her. And at the moment, Mo's life was perfect.

**P.S. **

** So from the beginning Kate is going to be the Spirit of Halloween. Does anyone know why I named her Kate? Also please review! I love finding them in my inbox. When I checked after the first chapter was published I saw eight messages and I had a happy attack! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Let me know what you think of the villains!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry this took so long. I hit a dry spot earlier. Thank you so much for the reviews. They mean so much to me! I don't own Rise of the Guardians. **

**Special Thanks to: **

** Cat Girl 1995 **

**Fell-and-Fallen **

**AmaraRae **

Chapter Three

Mo sat on the porch till dawn. She watched the sun pull itself up over the land and spread out its glorious light over the golden fields of ripe corn. She knew that she should have been heading back to the pole, but she wanted to stay. Mo knew that she wasn't a guardian and she knew that she never could be. Mo killed people. She took their lives. That wasn't something a guardian should do. Still she let herself believe that there was in fact a spark of untouchable goodness in her. Deep deep down. The girl closed her eyes and sighed. The Wind's frantic whistling caused her to quickly snap them open. Mo groaned when she noticed Jack flying towards her. His feet touched the railing silently and he looked Morte over searching for any wounds. "I was getting ready to head back,"Mo told him sharply.

"Now Mo,"Jack grinned,"Don't lie."

"Like you don't,"the teenage girl snorted.

"Good point."

Jack was quiet after that taking in the scene around them. "What is this place?" he asked after the silence had gotten unbearable.

"I don't know. Just some house."

Jack raised an eyebrow,"Yeah a random house that you spend all night at."

"It doesn't have a name. And it's not even the house. Just the people who live here."

Jack glanced towards the window. He hesitantly asked,"Can they… you know… see you?"

Mo sighed again and Jack could tell it was soul deep. "No,"she whispered.

Jack nodded and backed away from the door when it slid open. Three little girls jumped out and ran down the wide stairs into the yard. The two spirits watched as they tumbled around with the dog.

The door was opened again by the girl from last night, only she was much quieter as if she was sneaking away. "These your favorites?" Jack asked.

The girl froze and turned around. Her eyes widened and she stumbled back. Jack looked surprised that she could see him and walked closer. "Who are you?" the girl whispered.

"Jack Frost. You?"

"Triss Ammes. What about your friend?"

"My friend?"

Morte gasped when she realized that Triss was talking about her. "I'm Morte!" she all but shouted.

Mo leaped into the air and did a series of flips. Triss clapped lightly when Mo landed. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, but uh what are you doing here?"

The two spirits glanced at each other. "It could take awhile."

The girl laughed,"Come on. I've got all morning but... you're not kidnappers right?"

Jack laughed and assured the girl that they were not some kooky kidnappers.

* * *

Julious Heat and his girlfriend April Showers had been flying for hours. They touched ground in the designated place and glanced around curiously. "Ya should have been here hours ago!" an angry voice exclaimed.

Julious sighed,"Hello to you too, Wilmer."

"Now friends,"a crackling voice spoke up from behind Wilmer,"don't fight. You never know who might be lurking around."

"Miss Kate Bell,"April smiled wickedly,"Happy ghost day."

"Ah, but it is always the day for ghosts of my kind darling."

The two girls laughed and sat down.

Wilmer Whistlepig, more commonly known as The Groundhog, was an impatient creature. However, unlike his friends, the seasons of spring and summer, he had nothing against Jack Frost. His battle was with the Easter Bunny.

Kate, or The Bell Witch, was in the mood to reunite with some old friends. She wanted people to know her name as they did years ago. No one ever knew who the Bell Witch was. And Kate desperately wanted, no, she needed to change that.

"Come on,"Julious tugged on Wilmer's furry arm,"We have to hurry if we want to put our plan in action by tonight."

"Aye, we best be moving on,"Wilmer agreed.

The spirits hurried off to their next destination.

* * *

The Guardians were all still in North's complex patiently awaiting Jack and Morte. Well, actually they were talking about what they all thought of Morte. "I'm jus' sayin that maybe we oughta not trust her so much,"Bunny was arguing.

"She has given us no reason to not trust her,"Tooth fired back.

North held up his large hands to declare a truce,"Ve shall vait and see how she acts before judging."

Sandy nodded and gave North a thumbs up. "Vere is Jack?"

"He went to go find Mo and bring her back here."

"Should he not have been back by now?"

"Maybe he jus' got sidetracked. Ya'll know how Frostbite is."

"Perhaps."

* * *

Jack, Morte, and Triss were walking down a gravel lane leading down to the barn and other buildings (Triss was walking, the two immortal teens were hovering above the ground). "So you guys are, like, going to war?"

"In way yes,"Jack scratched his head,"But that's the only thing that really bothers you?"

Triss glanced up,"What do you mean?"

Morte spoke up softly,"It doesn't bother you that I kill people?"

Triss looked up with sincere eyes,"Course not."

Jack looked over at his friend who beamed at the other girl's words. He glanced down at her one believer. His eyes narrowed as his sharp eyes picked up a slight limp. "Why are you limping?"

Triss stumbled at the question but looked up with suddenly raw pained eyes,"I have a bad leg. Well,"she chuckled darkly,"don't even have much of a good leg anymore."

Jack and Morte could tell that it was a sore subject for the girl and didn't push it.

As the three rounded a corner a large machine shed seemed to appear in front of them. Triss hurried forward as much as she could. She stopped inside the doorway and her voice rang out crying,"Angel!"

A white thing rolled out from under a pile of beams and nudged Triss' ankles. Morte moved closer. Angel sniffed the air and reached out to swat at Mo's lengthy hair. The spirit giggled and patted the kitten. "Jack,"she said,"Meet Angel."

Jack saluted the fur ball but stayed where he was. The boy was perched on the loft part of the shed looking down at the two girls. "So what now?" Triss wondered.

**PS: Review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I am so sorry that this took so long. I met a major stand still and I didn't have internet and I've been in panic mode for the past two months. Just to warn you, it could be awhile till the next update. I am having surgery in sixteen days sooooo, yeah. Again I am so sorry. I want to thank all the reviewers and the positive notes. You guys are fantastic! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or The Bell Witch**

_**(I do own Morte, Wilmer, Julious, Triss and her family, and April)**_

**_Here it is, Chapter_**_ Four_

The Guardians were getting more and more worried so they sent Bunny, or more importantly, his nose, out to find Jack and Morte. He was darting down his tunnels and occasionally sniffing the air for a whiff of Jack's primary scent. The trail led him to a rustic shed. The air was musty and heavy with dust. As he looked around he took in piles of junk and tarnished items such as: old sinks, bikes, and trailers. The rabbit couldn't hide his disgust. His nose was telling him that Jack was inside the building so he reluctantly moved forward through the large doors.

* * *

Jack was looking at the young teen in surprise. He could tell that she wanted to help by her tone of voice. His face twisted into a smirk as he compared the girl to his believer Jamie. But as he began to ponder the two he came to a crossroads. This girl hadn't known who he was. You can't really believe in someone if you don't know anything about them. The only way he could prove this thought would be to introduce her to the other Guardians, but that was a ridiculous idea. Well, it was until Bunny came through the doors.

* * *

Mo and Triss were playing with Angel when they heard Jack's shout. The two girls spun around and looked at Bunny in shock. Triss' eyes widened,"Okay, who are you?"

Bunny pointed at himself,"Me? I'm the Easter Bunny."

Triss shook her head,"No. The Easter Bunny isn't real."

Bunny looked as if he had been punched in the gut. "Then why can ya' see me?"

"I… I don't know."

Morte was looking back and forth. Now that she thought about it did seem odd that Triss could see her. She thought back to some stories she had heard years ago. It had always been said that some people could see things. Stuff that others tended disbelieve. Maybe Triss was one of those people. "Triss,"she said softly,"Have you ever seen things that others didn't see?"

Triss glanced at Mo. "All the time,"she whispered,"That's why I came with you guys. I didn't think you were real."

"Well we are,"Jack told her,"And you have an amazing gift if you can see so much."

"It's not a gift. It's a curse. I've seen horrible things. People who died,"Triss shuddered.

Mo, Jack, and Bunny realized that she was seeing the ghosts who drifted everywhere. Most of them took the forms of the moment they died which meant that many were gruesome looking and drenched in blood.

"Well, we'll just hafta' help ya see the good things,"Bunny told her.

Triss offered a smile to the Guardian and stood up from seat on a tractor.

* * *

Kate Bell was a very impatient spirit. She didn't like waiting. But everyday it seemed that she would have to wait longer for something. Right now she was waiting to get her name back in history books and have children and teens believe and fear her. Every year it seemed she lost more people and more people disregard the legend surrounding her home. Well not anymore. Not after this. Not after they crush the stupid Guardians and every little child who dares to believe in them.

Wilmer the Groundhog was more patient than most, seeing as he was able to sleep so long, but even he was itching for the battle with the other _more important_ spirits. He may be patient, but he was angry. That Easter Bunny was always coming after him complaining about how winter is going to ruin his stupid holiday. _What kind of people dedicate a holiday to eggs anyway?_ The only thing that Wilmer really wanted was the Bunny.

Then there were the other two seasonals who just wanted the cold and dry air washed out forever. They didn't care about anyone but Jack and Morte. The West and South winds didn't really want to hurt their siblings, North and East, but they didn't have much of a choice. It was the way things worked. April Showers despised the fact that Morte could kill the flowers she painted and shaped so uncaringly, and Julious Heat didn't like Jack simply because they were so different. There was a foolishly forgotten fact could change the way this war ended up though and that was the idea that the seasonals were equally matched in powers and strength.

The others in the war were simple sprites who aimed their anger towards either Jack or Morte. It didn't really matter who. They just wanted to cause the two spirits pain. Sprites were easy to take advantage of, and you didn't have to worry about them eventually figuring out that they had been used because they would just burn out.

Then there was the real leader of this dark army. A thorn in the Guardian's side. He had nothing against Morte and would even pleasure working with her but those Guardians had to go. Pitch Black, was back.

**PS: I understand that Easter is not the holiday of eggs but Wilmer doesn't need to know that. Review! **

**~Bluebunny22**


End file.
